Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

There are widespread concerns in relation to this new set of guidelines for the review of SNA allocations, specifically, the narrowed criteria and rigid timelines. The application window now for school-led reviews is limited for a six-week period from 15 September to 24 October and excludes mid-year needs, and there is the issue of unification and redeployment risks. SNA allocations are now unified across mainstream and special classes. This removes the protection autism class resources had while setting up internal conflict and resentment of autism classes within mainstream schools. The level of need in autism classes is often higher and if mainstream SNAs are withdrawn to meet those needs, many children will be left less supported which could breed tension within classes. The narrow definitions of complex needs and level-3 care needs is a very important issue that needs to be resolved. These definitions exclude many children who require support. The dismissal of behavioural care needs is completely at odds with the realities staff face every day. By omitting SNA support for behavioural needs, schools will be forced to push families towards seeking a diagnosis for children in order to access help. This will unnecessarily label children and add to already severe backlogs in diagnostic systems.

On barriers to proper implementation, schools must evidence implementation of the new NCSE Relate programme within the six-week review window. As of now, there has been little training or preparation in relation to the Relate programme. There is a real fear that this new set of guidelines is about one thing and one thing only: it is about restricting access to SNAs. There is a fear that SNA support will be reduced rather than increased in schools.

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